D 731 
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Set 2 


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INTELLIGENCE REPORT 

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8 • 5 *42 

WHITE 

ATTITUDES 

TOWARD 

NEGROES 




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r&u*aFS* 

B 

MAR 29 194 f 

Kscartf OluWm 
Vto Uh«r? ti C^nfrrm 


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OFFICE OF 
WAR INFORMATION 


BUREAU OF 
INTELLIGENCE 

COPY 145_ 












Such recommendations and suggestions as may appear in 
this report have not been cleared in advance with the 
Director of the Office of War Information and do not 
necessarily reflect his views or those of the Office of War 
Information. Recommendations and suggestions, if they do 
appear, are only submitted by individuals in the Bureau 
of Intelligence who have assembled the data and they are 
offered for the consideration of appropriate authorities. 


The Bureau of Intelligence of the Office of War 
Information uses a variety of procedures and tech¬ 
niques to obtain its data on the attitudes of people 
and on what is brought to their attention. These pro¬ 
cedures and techniques have been found reliable after 
extensive experimentation over a period of years. 


CONTENTS 



SUMMARY 

WHITE ATTITUDES TOWARD NEGROES. page 1 

I. Basic Attitudes Toward Negroes. page 2 

Opportunities Open to Negroes.... page 3 

Views on Negroes’ Ability.page £ 

Segregation. page 7 

II. Negroes in the War Effort. page 8 

Willingness to Make Concessions., page 10 

The Negro in War Production.page 12 

The Negro in the Armed Forces.... page lU 
CONCLUSIONS. page l£ 











SUMMARY 


White people are largely unaware of the fact that dissatisfaction 
is so widespread among Negroes that large numbers of them have no heart for 
the war. Six whites in ten, out of a national cross-section recently inter¬ 
viewed, felt that Negroes were pretty well satisfied with conditions. Almost 
as many felt that Negroes are now better off than they were before the war. 

More than half of those interviewed with an opinion on the question 
believed that Negroes have as good a chance as whites to get jobs in war plants. 
Three out of four respondents in the South and nine out of ten in the rest of the 
country felt that a Negro should draw the same pay as a white person when he does 
the same work. 

Fifty-five per cent of the sample believed that a Negro makes as good a 
soldier as a white man. Forty-nine per cent felt that he makes as good an air¬ 
plane pilot. Respondents were about equally divided on the question of whether 
Negroes have as good a chance as whites to get ahead in the armed forces. 

Whites showed a fairly good knowledge of the hopes and demands of Negroes. 
They recognized, for example, that what Negroes are most concerned about is im¬ 
provement in their economic situation. But relatively few whites were willing to 
make concessions in this area. They were willing, however, to provide better 
housing facilities for Negroes. 

On all of these issues pronounced regional differences were evident. 
Southerners were more inclined than people in the rest of the country to feel 
that Negroes are being treated fairly or are themselves to blame for any 
differentiation in the treatment accorded them. And they were less willing than 
people in other regions to make concessions to Negroes. 

In all parts of the country, however, large numbers of people were 
unsympathetic to Negroes. Not only were they cold to their aspirations; many 
evidently felt that rights long since granted to Negroes should be revoked. 

For example, more than half of all respondents in the Northeast and West be¬ 
lieved that there should be separage schools for white and Negro children. 

Educational status also affected people’s answers. On most questions 
the better educated were somewhat more realistic and more liberal than the less 
’veil educated. 

Finally, it was found that people's views on the Negro's role in the 
war effort were closely linked to their prejudices on segregation and their 
desire to maintain present caste distinctions. 
























. 



















































































































'•I note with satisfaction that the theme 
of your significant gathering reads 'Victory is 
Vital to Minorities.' This theme might well be 
reversed and given to the Nation as a slogan. 

For today, as never before in our history, 
‘Minorities Are Vital to Victory.'" 

"We are, in a sense, a Nation of minorities. 
By race, by religion, by color, by ancestry, each 
constituent group is a minority when viewed in 
relation to our total population. But it is the 
essence of our democracy that our very differences 
have welded us into a Nation. And the democratic 
way of life within that Nation can be defended 
successfully only with the help and support of all 
groups within its borders." 


—Franklin D. Roosevelt, 
Message to the National 
Association for the Advance¬ 
ment of Colored People Con¬ 
ference, July 1U, 19U2 


\ 

WHITE ATTITUDES TOWARD NEGROES 


The amount of support Negroes give the war effort—and their very desire 
to support it—depends to a very large extent upon the attitudes of white people 
J award them. Negroes cannot put their shoulders to the wheel in the war effort 
if they are not permitted to do so. And their morale is inevitably affected by 
the kind of treatment they experience. 

It is important, therefore, to see to what extent white Americans share 
the view of their President that the support of the nation's Negroes is vital to 
the war effort. To supplement its previous investigations of Negro morale, the 
Bureau of Intelligence conducted a survey of white attitudes toward Negroes. 
Interviews were conducted with a representative cross section of white people in 
all parts of the country between June 22 and July 7. 


- 2 - 

I, Basic Attitudes Toward Negroes 

Perhaps the most surprising finding of the entire investigation was 
that a majority of white Americans are unaware that there is anything that might 
be called a '‘Negro problem." The illustration below shows the range of responses 
to the question, "Do you think most Negroes are pretty well satisfied with things 
in this country or do you think most of them are dissatisfied?" 

ARE NEGROES GENERALLY SATISFIED WITH CONDITIONS? 


t 

0 


Satisfied 


Dissatisfied 



Don't know 


59 % 

69 % 






Opinions of whites 



Northeast and West 


■ c I 

oouth 


Previous investigations of Negro morale in Memphis and New York indicate 
that, in fact, Negroes are far from satisfied. Many of them have grievances. 

Some of them feel so badly about their present situation, and so discouraged about 
the future, that they do not think that they would be any worse off if Japan won 
the war. A few feel they would be no worse off under German domination. Views 
of Negroes in these two cities cannot be taken as indices of national sentiment, 
but studies in four other cities suggest that they are not unrepresentative. 

The opinion of six white people in ten that Negroes are reasonably well 
satisfied with their situation must, therefore, be attributed in very large mea¬ 
sure to ignorance. But many factors contribute to this ignorance—including the 


























- 3 - 


callous belief that Negroes do not need much to satisfy them. It is in the South, 
where discrimination is most marked and Negroes constitute a relatively large 
proportion of the population, that the comforting opinion that Negroes are satis¬ 
fied is most prevalent. 

Opportunities Open to Negroes 

The beliefs whites have about Negroes tend to bolster one another. Some 
light is shed on the opinion that Negroes are relatively well satisfied with con¬ 
ditions by the response of white people to the question, "Do you think Negroes 
are getting all the opportunities they deserve in this country, or do you think 
in general they are not being treated fairly?" 


ARE NEGROES GETTING 

ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES THEY DESERVE? 


? 


Yes 


76 


t.........■■■——.—.. 




ill 


No 


18 % 


Don't know 


ii % 


;% | j 


Opinions of whites 

ill! Northeast and West 
lllli South 


The belief that Negroes are getting all the opportunities they deserve 
is itself a product of ignorance and a disparaging attitude toward Negroes. As 
the chart shows, the belief is more widespread in the South than in other parts 




























- h - 


of the country; it is more frequently expressed by those who did not complete 
high school than it is by the relatively well educated. But the belief is prev¬ 
alent in all parts of the country, among the well educated and the poorly edu¬ 
cated. Eighty-four per cent of the poorly educated respondents in the South 
subscribe to it, but so do more than one half of the well-educated respondents 
in the North who have an opinion on the question. 

The extent to which ignorance of the facts contributes to the viewpoint 
is perhaps suggested by peoples' opinions on a more specific question, "Do Negroes 
have as good a chance as white people to get a good education?" In the Northeast 
and in the West eight out of ten respondents felt that Negroes in their own regions 
have as good a chance as whites to get a good education. And the majority of 
white Southerners maintained that Negroes enjoy equality of educational opportunity 
in their region. 

Whatever the facts may be about the Northeast and the West, the opinion 
that Negroes have equal educational opportunities in the South is demonstrably 
mistaken. Because there are separate schools for the two races, it is possible 
to make direct statistical comparisons. In a recent year, in ten Southern states 
where Negroes constituted 28 per cent of the total school enrollment, only 12 per 
cent of the total expenditures went for Negro schools. The average expenditure 
per white pupil was $37.87; per colored pupil, $13.09. Only 19 per cent of the 
Negro children of high school age, as contrasted with 55 per cent of the white 
children, were enrolled in school. 

Respondents in the Northeast and in the West, especially the better 
educated ones, showed some awareness of these inequalities in the southern part 
of the United States. When asked, "Are there any other parts of the country where 


- 5 - 


you feel Negroes do not have the sane chances as white people do to get a good 
education?”, six respondents in ten in the Northeast and West said, "Yes.” It 
is interesting psychologically that those who acknowledged the existence of 
inequalities in their own areas were most prone to recognize the failure of other 
sections of the country to treat Negroes equitably. 

Views on Negroes 1 Ability 

A low opinion of Negroes' capabilities also probably contributes to the 
feeling that they are getting all the opportunities they deserve. As the chart 
on the following page shows, more than a half of all white people in the South 
and more than*a third of all white people in the rest of the country feel that 
Negroes are primarily responsible for their inferior status in our society. The 
bottom half of the chart shows the shortcomings attributed to Negroes by those 
who hold this viewpoint. 

Better educated respondents were more inclined than the less well edu¬ 
cated to blame white people, or both whites and Negroes, for the fact that Negroes 
do not have equality of opportunity. Even in the South U3 per cent of the better 
educated respondents were willing to put all or part of the blame for the plight 
of Negroes on the shoulders of the white population. 

The sample was asked: H In general, do you think Negroes are as intelli¬ 
gent as white people — that is, can they learn things just as well if they are 
given the same education and training?” Forty-eight per cent — a majority of 
those who expressed an opinion — replied that Negroes are not as intelligent as 
whites. As one would expect, this view was far more generally held in the South 
than in other regions. Surprisingly, it was voiced somewhat more frequently by 
the well educated than it was by the less well educated. 

Whites put a somewhat more favorable appraisal on the potential ability 



WHO IS TO BLAME FOR THE FACT THAT NEGROES 
DON’T HAVE THE SAME CHANCES AS WHITES? 


White? 



Neg roes 





3 4 % 




Other causes and don't know 



Opinions of whites 

Northeast and West 
South 


Negroes 

^ 5 * $ 


IF NEGROES, WHY ARE THEY TO BLAME? 



Lackof native Laziness 

ability 


10 % 



Aggressiveness 



Manners and 
morals 





6 % 6 % 


Mi 




Other causes 





















































- 7 - 


of Negroes as workers. When asked, "If a Negro has the same training as a white 
person, do you think he can do a particular job just as well?", seven respondents 
in ten in the Northeast and in the West said, "Yes". But less than UO per cent 
of the Southerners interviewed shared this view. 

In every region those who had worked with Negroes had more faith in their 
capabilities than those who had not. 

Segregation 

The views of whites on the segregation issues are summed up in the table 


below: 



Northeast 

South 

West 

Total 

$ 

There should be 

Edu¬ 

cated* 

Unedu¬ 

cated 

Edu¬ 

cated* 

Unedu¬ 

cated 

Edu¬ 

cated* 

Unedu¬ 

cated 


Separate residen¬ 
tial sections 

75* 

Q0% 

96% 

99 % 

Q0% 

m 

8h% 

Separate restau¬ 
rants 

S3 

60 

96 

99 

59 

67 

69 

-Separate schools 

U7 

55 

95 

99 

5U 

71 

66 

Separate sections 
in street cars 
and busses 

29 

37 

91 

97 

hi 

U7 

51 


The most marked differences of opinion are clearly on a regional basis. 


But it will be observed that large numbers of people in both the Northeast and 
the West expressed a preference for arrangements which would keep Negroes and 


whites separated. The sentiment for separate schools in these regions is espe¬ 
cially surprising. Even though children of the two races customarily attend the 
same schools in the Northeast and West, except as they may be accidentally sepa¬ 
rated as a result of living in different areas, majority sentiment endorsed segre¬ 
gation. 

* Completed high school or better. 








- 8 - 

Similarly, large numbers of people in these regions maintained that 
separate sections should be provided for whites and Negroes in public conveyances, 
even though this would involve a change in existing arrangements. Rural people 
were particularly prone to favor separate sections for whites and Negroes. 

It would be clearly inaccurate to say that on the issue of segregation 
a tolerant North and West are arrayed against an intolerant South. Yet on each 
of the questions the proportion of those who plumped for a policy of segregation 
was markedly larger in the South. It is probable, too, that Southerners feel 
more intensely about the issue than people in the rest of the country. The sample 
was asked, ’’If a Negro with just as much education and income as you have moved 
into your block, would it make any difference to you?" Eighty-six per cent of 
those interviewed in the South, as compared with per cent in the rest of the 
country, said that it would. The proportion of those who indicated that they 
would either actively oppose the encroachment of Negroes or else move away was 
also larger in the South. 

On most issues it will be noted that well-educated respondents were some¬ 
what more liberal than the less well educated. But the better educated respondents 
expressed more concern than those with less education about living in the same 
block with Negroes. In all probability, however, this difference was due to their 
superior economic status—to such considerations as fear of a decline in real 
estate values following Negro infiltration into their neighborhoods. 

II. Negroes in the War Effort 

The various attitudes which have been discussed inevitably find reflec¬ 


tion in white people's views on the role of Negroes in the war effort and the 
impact of the war upon them. 



- 9 - 


Whites' ignorance of conditions among Negroes and their reluctance to 
see that there is any Negro problem may have something to do with the fact that 
55 per cent of all those interviewed believed that Negroes have shared in the 
war-stimulated economic boom, and are better off than they were before December 
7. In any case, as the chart below indicates, whites were significantly more 
inclined to hold this view than the Negroes in Memphis and New York. 

ARE NEGROES BETTER OFF SINCE THE WAR BEGAN? 



Be+fer off 



Some 



Worse off 


Don'f know 


55 % 


_ 


30 % 





_ 


□ 


2 % 


HfTeTi- ■ 1 



13% 



D 0pjn ions of Whites 
[3 Opinions of Negroes (^^Yor^ 


Whites are less optimistic than Negroes about the effect of an American 
victory upon the status of Negroes, but the fact that they believe that Negroes 
have already improved their position may account for this. If, however, the view 
of seven white respondents in ten that the war will not change the status of the 
Negro in American society is based on a reluctance to make concessions, it may 
point to trouble ahead. For, if the New York and Memphis samples are typical, a 
sizeable minority of American Negroes believe that victory should and will mean 
some improvement in their lot. 
































- 10 - 


Willingness to Make Concessions 

The divergence between the kind of changes Negroes want made right now 
and the willingness of whites to make concessions constitute a more immediate 
source of conflict between the races. The issue about which Negroes feel the 
keenest resentment today is economic discrimination. They want to have the same 
opportunities as whites to secure jobs for which they are qualified. And they 
want to get the same pay as whites when they do the same work. Better economic 
opportunities are regarded as the key to the improvement of Negro life in all its 
aspects. About better houses and the abolition of segregation, Negroes show less 
concern. 

As the charts on the opposite page show, on the whole whites assess the 
grievances of Negroes quite accurately. But despite the fact that they recognize 
the Negroes 1 desire for economic equality, there is a pronounced reluctance to 
make concessions in this area. On the other hand, whites are willing to act to 
improve Negro housing conditions, although they recognize that this is not the 
step which Negroes most desire. 

The disparity between whites* knowledge of what Negroes want and what 
they are willing to grant them requires explanation. It may be conjectured that 
economic concessions are resisted because it is felt that they threaten existing 
caste barriers. On the other hand, better housing for Negroes fits in with the 
noblesse oblige tradition, which is particularly strong in the South, of "taking 
care" of Negroes. It permits the perpetuation of existing segregation. Finally, 
it is a way of improving the health of Negroes, and many whites have come to 
realize that the germs of communicable diseases do not obey Jim Crow laws and 
that Negroes' health is a matter of close personal concern to them. 




WHAT WHITES THINK NEGROES WANT MOST NOW 
AND WHAT THEY ARE WILLING TO GRANT THEM 


Job equality 



NORTHEAST and WEST 



Better houses 



SOUTH 


Job equality 



Better houses 



What whites think 
Negroes want most 


What whites are 
willing to grant 





























12 - 


The Negro in "Jar Production 

0 

Almost one-half of the cross section of white people expressed the 
belief that Negroes have as good a chance as whites to get jobs in war plants. 

(See chart opposite page- 13.) But the relatively well educated were not so likely 
to hold this opinion as the less well educated. 

Those who believed that Negroes do not have as good a chance as whites 
to get war jobs were asked to tell who they thought was responsible for the 
situation. Regional differences sharply influenced their answers. Southerners 
thought that Negroes themselves deserve most of the blame for whatever dif¬ 
ficulties they encounter. A plurality in the Northeast blamed the managers of 
factories; a plurality in the West blamed labor unions. 

Nine out of ten respondents in the Northeast and the West, and three 
out of four in the South, said that a Negro doing the same work as a white person 
should draw the same pay. But some people, especially in the South, may have 
expressed this opinion secure in the knowledge that the issue was remote, since 
in all probability Negroes could not get the same jobs as whites. 

Southerners were f.ar more prone than people in other parts of the 
country to object violently to Negroes working alongside them. In the Northeast 
and in the West, only three respondents in ten said that it would make any 
difference to them if Negroes were hired to work with them. But seven Southerners 
in ten said that it would make a difference. And far more Southerners than 
Northerners or Westerners carried their opposition to the point of saying that 
they would quit their jobs if Negroes were hired to work with them. 

There are some grounds for encouragement, however, in the fact that 
in all parts of the country those who had already worked with Negroes were far 
more willing to work alongside them than were those who had never had the 


experience 



NEGROES IN THE WAR EFFORT 


Opinions of 
whites 


Upper bar: NORTHEAST and WEST 
Lower bar: SOUTH 


"Do Negroes 

have as good a chance as whites to get war jobs?" 




"Are Negroes 
as patriotic as whites?" 


Qj 

IHi 






"Does the Negro 

make as good a soldier as the white man?" 




"Does the Negro 

make as good an airplane pilot as the white man?" 




"Do Negroes 

have the same chances as whites to get ahead in the armed forces?" 





Don't know 


I 













































































14 


The Negro in the Armed Forces 

From two-thirds to three-fourths of the people interviewed in the 
Northeast and in the West believed that Negroes are just as patriotic as 
whites. But in the South a majority of respondents with an opinion on the 
subject maintained that they are not as patriotic. 

The same regional differences were apparent in views on the Negro’s 
ability as a soldier. Six out of ten respondents in the Northeast and in 
the West felt that the average Negro makes just as good a soldier as the average 
white man. But in the South a majority of respondents held the contrary 
opinion. Throughout the country even fewer people felt that the Negro makes a 
good airplane pilot. Most of those who were scornful of Negroes' fighting 
ability maintained that they are cowardly, have less native ability, or are 
lazy and lack initiative. 

Respondents divided up into three groups of almost equal size on the 
question of who should lead Negro troops. Three in ten believed that they 
should be led by white officers, and almost the same number were of the opinion 
they should be led by Negro officers. Four respondents in ten felt that they 
should be led by both whites and Negroes. 

The usual regional variations were apparent. In the Northeast and in 
the West the most popular view was that Negroes should be led by officers of 
both races. In these regions the second largest vote was for Negro officers, 
except in the rural West, where white officers were in second place. In the 
South the predominant opinion was that Negro troops should be led by white 
officers. A sizeable group felt that both white and Negro officers should be 
employee, but the comments volunteered by some of those who expressed this 
opinion indicated that they felt that the top officers should be whites and the 
minor officers, who have close contact with the troops, Negroes. 



15 


CONCLUSIONS 

fhe task of making Americans generally see the importance of bringing 
the nation's Negro minority more fully into the war effort is one of immense 
difficulty. In part this difficulty stems from the close relationship between 
views on the Negro's role in the present emergency and deep-seated, stubbornly- 
held attitudes toward his worth, his ability and his place in society. 

The task is neuional in scope. Although Southerners were more dis¬ 
paraging of Negroes than people in the rest of the country, and more reluctant 
to make concessions to them, large numbers of people in all regions showed 
what must be regarded as an illiberal attitude toward Negroes. On some issues, 
indeed, it appears that rights which, have long since been granted to them are 
still opposed by large numbers of white people. 

Despite these difficulties, the situation is by no means hopeless. 

There are promising possibilities, for example, in the fact that large numbers 
of white people recognize the need for improving Negro housing conditions. 

Many of the attitudes of whites toward Negroes stem in part at least 
from ignorance. Thus a wide dissemination of information about the accomplish¬ 
ments of Negroes may be expected to do a great deal of good. Perhaps the most 
fundamental requirement for the solution of the Negro problem is further education 
of the white population. 

Finally, the imperative need of expanding the labor force imposes an 
obligation on the Federal Government, and provides an opportunity, to encourage 
the wider employment of Negroes in American industry. 

By turning the spotlight on Negro housing conditions and attempting to 
improve them; by making people aware of the necessity for employing more Negroes 

and attempting to eliminate employment discrimination; and by publicizing the 


16 


accomplishments of Negroes, the Federal Government can simultaneously make 
progress towards immediate and long-term objectives. It can secure a fuller 
participation of Negroes in the war effort and raise Negro morale. And over a 
period of time it can develop greater good will toward Negroes among the white 
population. 


Sources of the Report 


This report is based on the following material: 

"White Attitudes Toward Negroes," (tables). 

Extensive Surveys Division, Special deport $11 

"The Negro Problem," (comment on tables). Ex¬ 
tensive Surveys Division 

"Memphis Negroes and the War," (tables based on 
interviews with whites in Memphis), Extensive 
Surveys Division, Special Report $10 

"White Attitudes Toward Negroes," Special Service 
Division, Report $19 

"Negroes in The War: A Study in Baltimore and 
Cincinnati," Division of Surveys, Special 
Report $16 

"Minority Groups in Baltimore and Cincinnati," 
Special Services Division, Report $18 

Report on statements of private thought leaders 
and Government spokesmen on Negroes, Sources 
Division, July 21, 1942 

"Axis Propaganda Intended to Undermine Relations 
Between Whites and Negroes," Sources Division, 

July 21, 1942 

"Negroes in A Democracy At War," Survey of Intel¬ 
ligence Materials $25, May 27, 1942 

"Memphis Negroes and The War," Supplement to 
Survey $25, July 14, 1942 

All of the above reports are available to authorized 
individuals through the Bureau of Intelligence of the Office 
of War Information. 






